Betrayal
by CalicoCat21
Summary: Ryoma left back to America. Nobody knows why. And why aren't his teammates worried!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Summary: Ryoma left back to America. Nobody knows why. And why aren't his teammates worried?**

**Author's Note: Ryoma will be a bit OOC here and not everything will be the same with the manga. This is why it's called fan fiction. So no flamers, please.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. Takeshi Konomi owns it.**

* * *

Betrayal was _painful_.

Imagine being stabbed multiple times by burning hot knives repeatedly and suddenly plunged in a tub of alcohol. It would feel like your whole body was on fire and there was nothing you could do to stop the pain. That was how betrayal felt like for one Ryoma Echizen.

* * *

_~Flashback~_

_They won. Seigaku won. He won. Ryoma felt like he was in euphoria as he heard cheers all around him. He was in cloud nine even until everybody went to celebrate with only his teammates left with him._

_Walking back to where Seigaku was with his celebratory Ponta in hand, he slowed down as he heard familiar voices in a conversation._

_"We finally have the Nationals," he heard as he went closer, the voices sounding louder._

_A chorus of cheers were heard after the sentence. So they were talking about the win?_

_"Buchou, what are we going to do with the brat now? I mean Seigaku's won the Nationals now."_

_Ryoma froze as he heard the sentence, coming to a full stop by the corner. Brat? Who were they talking about? It was Fuji who answered the question._

_"Why we leave him, of course. Echizen's of no use to us now that we've won. He wasn't supposed to be part of this team in the first place."_

_Him? They were talking about him?_

_"I agree with Fuji. The brat's a nuisance. He almost lost us the game and he actually thinks we care about him. The only reason he was on the team was because of the old hag. At least, he was useful. Who would've thought he had some talent?"_

_Ryoma was shocked. Was this really what they thought of him? A nuisance? A tool to be used and then thrown away? He couldn't take it anymore as he dropped the Ponta he was holding._

_Tears formed in his eyes as he ran. Away from his team, no, they weren't his team anymore. They were just traitors. People who used and took advantage of him when let his walls down for their friendship._

_The fallen drink made a thunk as it fell, the liquid inside spilling all over the pavement._

_~End of Flashback~_

* * *

The tennis player sat frozen in front of his parents and cousin as they tried to make him respond. He was in a state of shock, his feelings numb and his memories replaying the scene again and again. His thoughts saying the words again and again. _A nuisance. A tool for the Nationals. Nothing but a tool and a nuisance._

Ryoma suddenly let out an anguished sob as his family paused with their fussing, shocked as tears fell from his eyes. Crystal drops of water fell from pained golden eyes as his family started panicking. They knew something was wrong. Ryoma had _never_ cried ever since Ryoga had left and that wasn't as bad this one. He'd never cried in front of them. When his brother left, he'd only started crying as soon as he had locked himself in his bedroom.

"Ryoma? Ryoma, come on look at 'Kaa-san(1). Tell 'Kaa-san what's wrong. Please, musuko(2)," Rinko Echizen begged as her son continued on crying. She looked at her husband and niece, her eyes mirroring their panic and worry.

"Ryoma-kun? Please tell us what's wrong," Nanako tried as she looked at her cousin. They had found him standing in front of the door, as still as a statue, when he had suddenly fallen onto his knees. They'd had to support him to a chair where they were right now.

Nanjiro Echizen looked at the women and signaled them to leave as he took his son into his arms, putting Ryoma on his lap. The two women opened their mouths to protest, but were stopped by the man's serious face. They reluctantly left to the living room, worried eyes watching the two as Ryoma continued crying.

Nanjiro rubbed his youngest son's back soothingly as tears kept on pouring. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, but the tears soon stopped. The man looked at his son and found him asleep and exhausted. He wiped Ryoma's tears with his hands as he stood up and carried his son bridal-style up to his room.

As he was going, he passed by his wife and Nanako looking at him with questioning eyes. He shifted and showed them a sleeping Ryoma. As the two saw this, they each pressed a kiss on the sleeping boy's forehead and a quiet murmur of "Sweet dreams." As soon as they were done, Nanjiro continued on to his destination.

He opened the door and laid the sleeping boy on the bed, tucking him in as the boy shifted, snuggling in. Karupin jumped up to the bed and curled up by his master, nuzzling his hair before slowly drifting to sleep. Before he fell aleep, he smelled the salty tears, and the cat's last thoughts were whom ever made his master cry was going to pay.

Nanjiro watched his son sleep, gently ruffling his hair before he closed the door. The three adults met downstairs at the living room, staying silent as they went. The silence was broken when Rinko spoke up.

"How's Ryoma?"

"He's asleep. He cried himself to sleep."

"Oji-san(3), why was Ryoma crying?" Nanako asked the question on everybody's mind.

"I don't know Nanako. I don't know. I've never seen him like this. Something really bad must have happened for him to be like this," Nanjiro said as he rubbed his face, looking very tired.

What had happened to his son? All he knew was that today, Seigaku won the Nationals. The old hag had called him earlier, telling him about the win. Now that he thought about it, shouldn't his son be happy? They won the game so what made him like this? As he thought of the situation more and more, he concluded that something bad must have happened at the end causing his son to be like this. His thoughts were abruptly cut off as his wife's voice spoke up.

"Let's just head to bed. We'll figure this out tomorrow morning," Rinko said, standing up. They locked the doors and closed the lights, murmuring their goodnights as they went to bed with today's events on mind.

What had happened to Ryoma?

* * *

**(1) 'Kaa-san, Okaa-san - mom**

**(2) musuko - son**

**(3) Oji-san - uncle**

**A/N: I personally think the beginning paragraph isn't that good so please give me some good suggestions so I can edit it a little. Oh, and if anybody wants me to add a little twist, I can do it, but I'm not sure if it's gonna be up to your tastes. I will certainly try, though.**

**New chapters might take up to a month to upload so cross your fingers. ;D**

**Review and consider what I wrote!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Summary: Ryoma left back to America. Nobody knows why. And why aren't his teammates worried?**

**Well, it's here! Chapter 2 has finally arrived! Thank you for having patience with me. -bows down- This chapter is a bit short since it's like a foreshadowing. There may be some grammar and spelling mistakes since I am typing this when I have a cold. If you find any mistakes on it, please let me know. Help is appreciated!**

**About the title: Since I couldn't decide I just chose "Betrayal." It was a title suggestion from an anonymous reviewer named "Yuu" so thank you for that. I chose it since it was short and straightforward at conveying what happened to Ryoma. I would like to give thanks to the reviewers who reviewed and gave me suggestions.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. Takeshi Konomi owns it.**

* * *

"Young master, I must ask you to please wake up." A man in his early twenties said, nudging a lump in a gigantic bed fit for royalty. A muffled groan came out from lump.

"Hai, hai. I'm awake. What's for breakfast today?"

The lump rose up, dark emerald-green sheets made of velvet pooling on his slim waist. The teen proceeded to rub his eyes while yawning. He slowly stretched out with catlike grace, sighing as he heard his back pop.

"The chef has prepared a Japanese breakfast today, your favorite. Now please hurry up and get dressed. Your parents are waiting for you. It appears that they have something to tell you." The man said, fixing the bed sheets as the teenager headed to the bathroom.

"I'll be down soon." The teen paused before his destination. "Ne, Hikaru...what do you think they want to talk about?"

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, young master. So please hurry up before your breakfast becomes cold," replied the man pushing his young master to the bathroom.

Getting in the bathroom, the teen stripped and stepped in the shower as hot water rained down. He took the bottle of shampoo and squeezed out a moderate amount. The teen lathered his hair softly as bubbles formed on his head, but thoughts of what his parents wanted to talk about ran rampant his head.

* * *

"Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, Hikaru said you wanted to speak something with me," the teenager said as he gracefully sat down.

"Ahh...yes about that. Your father and I are going to have our second honeymoon next week," a beautiful woman said cheerfully as they ate breakfast. The teenager stared at his parents with an inquiring look. "So? What does that have to do with me?"

"Well... We didn't want you to be alone here and your grandfather's been wanting to see you again. So we're sending you to Japan!" the woman said happily as she leaned into her husband's chest.

"What!"

The teenager was cut off when his father's voice said, "Sorry, but you have no other choice. Your grandfather decided he needed to see you and you know his word is law. And since you're gonna be gone, we're taking this chance for a second honeymoon." At those words, the man happily kissed his wife on the lips. You could practically see the hearts floating everywhere.

"And don't worry, honey! Hikaru's going to be with you. We can't leave him alone in the house. He's gonna be lonely and he needs a love life! For goodness sake, Hikaru-kun! Your young and free. Live your life as much as you can and find somebody to settle down with," the woman said with exasperation as she saw the younger man come down.

Said man just smiled and blushed lightly, a tint of pink on his cheeks. "Erm, madam, when would we be leaving?"

"Oh don't worry about that! Your flight's next week so you have time to pack and do your business!"

* * *

"Hikaru... Are you okay with going to Japan?" the teen asked later on as he lay on his bed. He looked tired and sleepy, his half-lidded eyes staring at his personal butler. The teenager was sprawled out in his bed, his hands at the back of his head. The older man just smiled serenely, his eyes twinkling as he looked at the sprawled teen.

"Hai, young master. I will be fine." The teenager stared a bit more before his own eyes gave out and his breath evened out. Hikaru softly smiled as he close curtains and pulled the soft blanket closer to the teen. He put his right hand directly above where his heart was and bowed deeply.

"I will follow young master wherever you go. I solely owe my life to you and so I shall protect you. After all, young master was the one who gave my life a purpose." With those words, he pulled out of the bow and switched the lights off. He gave one last look to the figure on the bed before softly closing the door behind him.


End file.
